wheen mile in cleveland, storm scarred the rock and roll hall of fame before churning up waves on lake michigan enough to set records and force folks from their midwestern homes. and the fact that all of this is playing out a week before election day could make sandy the mother of all october surprises, an event big enough po push climate back into the political climate. and reframe the debate over the size of government, specifically the size of federal disaster relief. >> you can't always solve all of the problems yourself but you can make the difference in the life of one or two people. >> reporter: it looked like a campaign stop in battleground ohio mitt romney deliberately stepped off the stump to accept leaf donations and encourage more but he avoided questions about his previous stance on the role of fema. >> governor, would you eliminate fema if you were president? >> reporter: president obama stayed in washington to visit red cross, attend briefings with governors and utility ceos. >> i think he's handled it well. >> reporter: compassionate or calculated, depending on who call